Toothbrushes are designed to clean teeth by removing bio-films and food debris from teeth surfaces and interproximal regions in order to improve oral health. A wide variety of electronic toothbrush designs have been created to provide improved brushing performance by increasing the speed of the brush head and using sonic vibration, and in some cases ultrasonic vibration.
Modern toothbrushes are very efficient at removing plaque. The consumer need only brush in the problem area for a few seconds to lift off plaque that is being brushed. However, without feedback the consumer may move on to another tooth before plaque has been completely removed. Thus, an indication of plaque levels on the teeth is highly desirable.
Despite improvements in toothbrush designs, it is still difficult to reach interproximal regions. Plaque disclosing dyes are available to help consumers identify areas where plaque builds up and where brushing needs to be concentrated. However, these dyes have not been well-received by consumers.
Therefore, there is an increasing need to develop dental implements that may identify plaque and communicate these problem areas, in real-time and continuously, to the user, so that the user may concentrate his/her brushing efforts in these problem areas.